


Competition

by beargirl1393



Series: Hayffie Week [3]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jealousy, jealous haymitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 08:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4660281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beargirl1393/pseuds/beargirl1393
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Effie is dancing with Plutarch and Haymitch is jealous, not that he'll admit it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Competition

“If you keep glaring at her like that, people are going to talk.”

Haymitch didn’t bother turning to acknowledge Peeta, instead keeping his focus on Effie and Plutarch.

“Why don’t you just go ask her to dance?” He could feel the amusement radiating off of the boy, and he spared a few seconds to glare at him before turning his attention to Effie and Plutarch.

Namely, Effie and Plutarch dancing, while the man’s hand dipped incrementally lower with each pass they made across the dance floor.

He didn’t know who had invited Plutarch to the celebration of the end of the war in Twelve this year, or if the man had just invited himself. Haymitch had figured that the man would go to one of the parties in the Capitol as he usually did, and he wasn’t pleased to be proven wrong.

The war had been over for four years, Effie had been living in Twelve for three, and still nothing had been said about their former, no strings attached, relationship that had gone on for most of their time as escort and Victor.

Effie seemed to be trying to put her past behind her and come to terms with the torture she had suffered at the hands of the Capitol, and he didn’t want to push it. He wasn’t going to push his luck and remind her how she had hated him after the war, how she had shouted at him in the hospital in Thirteen for leaving her behind. She had put that behind her before she brought Peeta back to Twelve, one year after he’d brought Katniss back, and he wasn’t going to bring it up. She stayed in his guest room, they bickered daily, sometimes hourly…it was enough.

Except during times like this, when another man flirted with Effie, especially another Capitol man painted like a peacock even after the war.

“Just go and ask her to dance,” Peeta said, rolling his eyes. “She looks like she’s eager to get away from Plutarch, and she likely wouldn’t say no to dancing with you instead.”

That was true enough, Haymitch had to admit. Effie had already moved Plutarch’s had to its proper position on her back when he’d tried moving it down to her behind, and her smile was reminiscent of the escort’s mask, bright, bubbly, and utterly fake. It looked nothing like her real smile, although Plutarch didn’t seem to notice. Then again, most people weren’t able to tell the difference between Effie’s fake smiles and her real ones, she was too good of an actress for that. It had even taken time for him to see past the brainless escort act to see the woman behind it, although he usually prided himself on being better at reading people than that.

“Why don’t you go bother Katniss? Ask her to dance or just go and moon over her,” Haymitch grumbled, draining his glass and setting it aside. Peeta smirked at him, but mercifully left him alone and went to join Katniss.

Haymitch watched Plutarch’s unsubtle flirting with Effie for another five minutes before he had had enough.

He made his way to the dance area, weaving his way around the other couples to make it to Effie and Plutarch. He was blunt when he cut in, certainly not ‘proper’, as Effie would likely tell him later, but it served its purpose of getting her away from Plutarch.

Effie chided him for his lack of manners, of course, but he could see the relief in her eyes. It was enough to make up for the boy laughing at him. He smirked when he saw Katniss’ mystified expression, the girl had never been the best at reading people, especially when emotions were involved. That was more Peeta’s area, but she would have had to be blind to miss this now.

When Effie’s head ended up under his chin, her body pressed close, he raised his eyes to where Plutarch was, standing on the edge of the dance area, and he was sure that his expression made his point perfectly clear.

Effie had been given a choice, one she had been offered repeatedly. District Twelve or the Capitol. This, even if he and Effie were still negotiating what ‘this’ was, made it perfectly clear.

When Effie was given a choice, District Twelve vs. the Capitol, it was clear what she had chosen. District Twelve 1, the Capitol 0.


End file.
